Dysregulated Expression of Long Intergenic Non-coding RNAs (LincRNAs) in Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma

Three Prognostic Biomarkers Correlate with Immune Checkpoint Blockade Response in Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma

Aim

We aim to develop a signature that could accurately predict prognosis and evaluate the response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA).

Methods

Based on comprehensive analysis of public database, we identified prognosis-related hub genes and investigated their predictive values for the ICB response in BLCA.

Results

Among 69 common DEGs, three genes (AURKA, BIRC5, and CKS1B) were associated with poor prognosis, and which were related to histological subtypes, TP53 mutation status, and the C2 (IFN-gamma dominant) subtype. Three genes and their related risk model can effectively predict the response of immunotherapy. Their related drugs were identified through analysis of drug bank database.

Conclusions

Three genes could predict prognosis and evaluate the response to ICB in BLCA.

Identification of Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers in Prostate Adenocarcinoma Based on the Stromal-Immune Score and Analysis of the WGCNA and ceRNA Network

Prostate cancer is still a significant global health burden in the coming decade. Novel biomarkers for detection and prognosis are needed to improve the survival of distant and advanced stage prostate cancer patients. The tumor microenvironment is an important driving factor for tumor biological functions. To investigate RNA prognostic biomarkers for prostate cancer in the tumor microenvironment, we obtained relevant data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. We used the bioinformatics tools Estimation of Stromal and Immune cells in Malignant Tumor tissues using Expression data (ESTIMATE) algorithm and weighted coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) to construct tumor microenvironment stromal-immune score-based competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks. Then, the Cox regression model was performed to screen RNAs associated with prostate cancer survival. The differentially expressed gene profile in tumor stroma was significantly enriched in microenvironment functions, like immune response, cancer-related pathways, and cell adhesion-related pathways. Based on these differentially expressed genes, we constructed three ceRNA networks with 152 RNAs associated with the prostate cancer tumor microenvironment. Cox regression analysis screened 31 RNAs as the potential prognostic biomarkers for prostate cancer. The most interesting 8 prognostic biomarkers for prostate cancer included lncRNA LINC01082, miRNA hsa-miR-133a-3p, and genes TTLL12, PTGDS, GAS6, CYP27A1, PKP3, and ZG16B. In this systematic study for ceRNA networks in the tumor environment, we screened out potential biomarkers to predict prognosis for prostate cancer. Our findings might apply a valuable tool to improve prostate cancer clinical management and the new target for mechanism study and therapy.

Downregulation of LINC02615 Is Correlated with The Breast Cancer Progress: A Novel Biomarker for Differential Identification of Breast Cancer Tissues

Objective

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer with a gradually increasing incidence in developing countries. The aim of this study was to assess modulation of LINC02615 levels in breast cancer progress, using pairwise breast cancer and healthy control tissue samples with regard to the obesity and other conditions, as estrogen receptor (ER) expression.

Materials and Methods

In this cohort study, the genes, microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in several important pathways of chromosomal instability, apoptosis and proliferation were analyzed through in silico studies pinpointing the important genes which were responsible for the breast cancer incidence. Then, the respective miRNAs and lncRNAs were selected by relevant databases. At the next step, Lncbase was used for interaction analysis of selected miRNAs and LncRNAs, which resulted in final selection of LINC02615. Total RNA was isolated from 24 pairwise breast cancer and healthy control tissue samples. Expression profile of LINC02615 was assessed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Correlation between LINC02615 expression and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed using Pearson’s Chi-square test in breast cancer patients.

Results

Data demonstrated that expression of LINC02615 was significantly downregulated in breast cancer tissues compared to the healthy controls (P=0.046). In particular, the relative LINC02615 expression was significantly different in breast cancer tissues especially in obese patients compared to those persons without obesity (P=0.047). Furthermore, a significant difference in LINC02615 level was found between the high and low ER expressions (P=0.014). However, the aberrant expression of LINC02615 was significantly related to physical activity and diabetes disease as well as the stress and age at menopause (P=0.028, P=0.046, P=0.047 and P=0.025, respectively).

Conclusion

Taken together, we suggest that LINC02615 downregulation may be related to the risk of breast cancer in Iranian patients. Thus, it may serve as a novel biomarker for identification of breast cancer tissues.

LINC00460 Enhances Bladder Carcinoma Cell Proliferation and Migration by Modulating miR-612/FOXK1 Axis

INTRODUCTION

LincRNA (long intergenic noncoding RNA) has been indicated as a mediator in tumorigenesis of bladder carcinoma. This study was performed to evaluate the role of LINC00460 in bladder carcinoma progression.

METHODS

Expression levels of LINC00460 in bladder carcinoma tissues and cell lines were analyzed via qRT-PCR. MTT, EdU (5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine) staining, and colony formation assays were utilized to evaluate cell viability and proliferation. The wound healing assay was performed to evaluate bladder cancer cell migration, and the transwell assay was used to evaluate cell invasion. The microRNA (miRNA) target of LINC00460 and the corresponding target gene were validated via the dual luciferase activity assay. The tumorigenic function of LINC00460 was determined via establishment of a xenotransplanted tumor model.

RESULTS

LINC00460 was elevated in bladder carcinoma tissues and cell lines. Elevated LINC00460 was associated with shorter overall survival of bladder carcinoma patients. Overexpression of LINC00460 promoted cell viability, proliferation, invasion, and migration, while silencing of LINC00460 indicated the opposite effect on bladder carcinoma progression. LINC00460 could directly bind to miR-612 and inhibit miR-612 expression. Moreover, LINC00460 expression was negatively correlated with miR-612 in patients with bladder carcinoma. FOXK1 (Forkhead Box K1) was identified as the target of miR-612 and upregulated in patients with bladder carcinoma. Overexpression of FOXK1 attenuated interference of LINC00460-inhibited bladder carcinoma progression. Knockdown of LINC00460 suppressed in vivo bladder carcinoma growth.

CONCLUSIONS

LINC00460 promoted bladder carcinoma progression via sponging miR-612 to facilitate FOXK1 expression, suggesting that LINC00460 might have the potential of being explored as a therapeutic target for treatment of bladder carcinoma.

Genetic and molecular biology of bladder cancer among Iranian patients

Background

Bladder cancer (BC) is the sixth common cancer among Iranians. Various risk factors such as smoking, body mass index, chronic infection, age, and genetic factors are associated with BC progression.

Methods

It has been shown that a significant ratio of patients have tumors with muscle bladder layer invasion and poor prognosis at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, the early detection of tumors is required to reduce the mortality rate of BC cases. Since there is a wide geographical incidence variation in BC in Iran, it seems that the ethnic and genetic factors can be the main risk factors among Iranian BC patients.

Results

For the first time, in present review we have summarized all of the reported genes among Iranian BC patients until now which were significantly associated with tumorigenesis. Moreover, we categorized all of the reported genes based on their cell and molecular functions to clarify the genetic and molecular biology of BC among Iranian population.

Conclusion

This review paves the way of determination of a population‐based genetic panel markers for the early detection of BC in this population.

Overexpression LINC01082 suppresses the proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as pivotal regulators in human cancer. LINC01082 was expressed as decreased in colon cancer by previous lncRNA-seq result and TCGA database, however, the role and function of LINC0182 is not clear in colon cancer. Here, we aimed to explore the role of LINC01082 in colon cancer for exploring the etiopathogenesis of colon cancer. RT-qPCR for LINC01082 expression in tissues (colon cancer vs. their matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues, ANT, n = 39) and cells (colon cancer cells vs. normal colon cells, n = 4) were performed. CCK-8 assay for proliferation of colon cancer, Transwell assay for migration and invasion were carried out in sw480 and sw620 cells. The results revealed that LINC01082 was significantly decreased in tissues and cell lines of colon cancer. Overexpressed LINC01082 significantly suppressed the proliferation ability of colon cancer cells. The migration and invasion of colon cancer cells were also suppressed after LINC01082 overexpression. These findings demonstrated that LINC01082 may act in suppressing the incidence and development of colon cancer via suppressing cell proliferation, migration and invasion, indicating that LINC01082 may act as a new tumor suppressor and may be a promising therapy target for colon cancer.

Long Non-coding Ribonucleic Acid as a Novel Diagnosis and Prognosis Biomarker of Bladder Cancer

Long non-coding ribonucleic acids (lncRNAs) are the largest group of non-coding RNAs and supposedly have a broad spectrum of diverse functions in normal cellular processes. This study was carried out to review the biological functions of candidate lncRNAs (i.e., H19, MALAT-1, TUG1, UCA-1, MEG-3, HOTAIR, CCAT2, AATBC, and the like) with aberrant expressions that play critical roles in bladder cancer (BC) initiation, progression, and metastasis. A formal narrative review was performed by searching the PubMed database for English articles using a combination of keywords such as "long non-coding RNA", "lncRNA", "cancer", "bladder cancer", "screening", "prognosis", "diagnosis", and "response to therapy". In addition, the existing literature was studied on biological function, aberrant expression, and the clinical applications of candidate lncRNAs in BC. By a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs, they can be used as biomarkers for tumor signatures in urologic malignancies, which can improve screening, prognosis, diagnosis, and the treatment of BC.

Long noncoding RNA CYTOR sponges miR-195 to modulate proliferation, migration, invasion and radiosensitivity in nonsmall cell lung cancer cells

Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most frequent malignancies worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) play critical roles in cancer initiation and progression. Previous studies have demonstrated that overexpression of cytoskeleton regulator RNA (CYTOR) predicates poor prognosis and promotes tumor progression. However, the functional roles and underlying mechanism of CYTOR in NSCLC remain unknown. In the present study, we found that CYTOR promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion ability, and induced radioresistance in NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, CYTOR could directly interact with miR-195 and increase its targets. Thus, CYTOR played an oncogenic role in NSCLC progression through sponging miR-195. Together, our study elucidates the role of CYTOR as a microRNA sponge in NSCLC, and CYTOR may be used as a promising therapeutic target for NSCLC treatment.